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Topic: "Are you okay?" (Read 30094 times)

My last semester as an undergrad I had a professor who just did not look right. He never really complained but he was often out of breath, had bronchitis twice in a semester, was ashen in coloring. I *knew* something was wrong when this normally kind man ( and students raved about him and his wife) turned into an argumentative, angry man who made everything racially based ---I started asking him, every day "are you ok, professor?" two week before the end of the semester he told me to stay after class and said "I have to thank you, because you asked me every day and kept asking, I went to the dr just to get him to tell me i was ok, so I could tell you. Turns out I am not I have diabetes and never knew it. It went far enough that there is other damage too. Were it not for your asking - I could have died, Thank you." He could have gotten angry and ignored me - but he recognized that I cared enough to notice and ask for a reason. My advice to you is to ask your friend why they keep asking - and if they have a ryong "you keep making noises " evaluate it and then act as you see fit. It might be they notice something you don't

I wanted to say--

with my chronic cough, I went to the doctor when my coworkers finally said to me, "This isn't right--have you seen a doctor for that cough?"

By now, I know that I've done everything I can do (almost); there's no easy answer, and I don't have emphysema/lung cancer/whatever. But that experience--having someone pressure me about my health--makes me more sympathetic to people like my coworker and snowdragon.

Be sure that's not what he's doing--and that you *are* taking care of yourself.

I agree with people who tell you to ask him why he's asking it so much. He could be asking it for several reasons:-he's genuinely concerned-your sighs/oofs are driving him around the bend-he wants to adjust his driving speed to prevent causing you more pain-he wants to adjust his speed on the stairs/he wants your permission to go on ahead/he wants to know if you want him to slow down so you can keep up-he's slipped into an annoying habit and doesn't know he's asking it so much-another reason I haven't thought of

Add me to the list of people who sought medical advice after mentioning certain symptoms and not connecting the dots. I'm lactose intolerant and cutting dairy from my diet has improved my life a lot.

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As previous posters have said, you can't reasonably expect to change him. You can only change your behaviour. You can have a frank discussion about this annoyance, which can result in something productive, or him being defensive. You can let it fester and eventually snap at him. You can respond with annoyance every time, which will most likely cause hurt feelings for him. You can change your being into someone who can bolt up the stairs two at a time and lets out a "Yippeeki-A" at every speedbump, which doesn't seem particularly reasonable...

I bump into things a lot and I chatter to myself a lot. My husband "areyouokay-ed" me constantly (5-20 times a day) because of this. So annoying!. On the verge of snapping at him, I gave him a translation of what the various noises are:

Loud thump, no follow up cursing = I'm really hurt and come find me.Loud or quiet thump or bang with follow up cursing or ouchies = I'm fine.Low whispering, murmering, muttering, sighing, or grunting under my breath = If there's no way a reasonable person could expect to understand what I'm saying, you're not the intended audience, so mind your business. I'm talking to myself. I love you.

As for things like the stairs, I've done the same thing as your friend. From my end, I can say that "are you okay?" means "am I going to fast? Would you like me to slow down?" So, it's less of me thinking my friend is too slow, but more like my own pace may be inconsiderate and causing someone discomfort.

1) You are more verbal than you know. I know people who sort of talk to themselves or express themselves verbally when something bothers them (like on the news, or physically). People tend to think that if you are saying something/making a noise that you are expecting a response.

2) He is excessively making sure you are okay.

Probably it is a combination of both. So first figure how much you verbally express that you are having issues. But you might want to tell him that you often "ooof" and "argh" and that he can ignore those.

It's like I do when I sneeze...people often say "Bless you" after the first sneeze...For people I am around often I tell them am a three sneezer so they can just wait until the end. Sort of manage expectations so nobody is annoyed.

Maybe it's a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like the grumbling- he could be taking the grunting as a complaint about his driving and not a complaint about the existance of speed bumps. Honestly, someone complaining about a normal part of the road every time might get to me too.

Maybe it's a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like the grumbling- he could be taking the grunting as a complaint about his driving and not a complaint about the existance of speed bumps. Honestly, someone complaining about a normal part of the road every time might get to me too.

I've said it already- I don't do it all the time!

Even if you don't do it all the time if someone makes a noise going over a speed bump I'm going to ask if they are OK because in my experience the only reason for someone to do that is if it hurt them. If they then say they are fine I'm going to assume it's a dig at my driving too fast (in their opinion) over them. Even if its not all the time, in fact probably it's probably worse if it's not all the time. All the time might become the noise Amanita makes for speed bumps and can therefore be safely ignored.

Maybe again get in there first if you are having a bad day with your neck and going into the speed bump area just mention that you hate the things on days like today when your neck is acting up, tell him you may make some noises but to please ignore them. After you have said the entire speech a couple of trips you can probably switch to something more like today is a bad day for speed bumps.

For me when I know what the problem is and how you would like me to handle it I then won't need to ask if you are OK. I can then begin to apply this info to similar situations.

If he's a good friend I don't understand why you're not just outright saying "dude, let's have a talk about why you're always asking me if I'm okay". Or why you haven't said things like "just going at my own pace; see you up top."

Maybe it's a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like the grumbling- he could be taking the grunting as a complaint about his driving and not a complaint about the existance of speed bumps. Honestly, someone complaining about a normal part of the road every time might get to me too.

This may be too. I know a guy who is really bothered anytime a passenger makes a noise as he drives over a pothole/speed bump/etc. His expectations of himself are that he should be able to completely cancel out the bump with his driving skillz, and if someone oofs he takes it as a criticism of his driving rather than of the road.

OP, my DH gets concerned that things may be too much for me, as I have various physical ailments but still try to enjoy life, so we just make eye contact and if I need assistance, he knows I will tell him.

I suggest you try to get your friend to understand that if you need assistance you will tell him.

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ďAll that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost."-J.R.R Tolkien

When someone says "Ouch," "oof," "oy," etc. or sighs or grimaces, we either get the feeling that

1) something is wrong, and they might not be okay

or

2) they need a lot of attention/are being critical of your driving/are a SS that is behaving as if the bump/cold/rain/whatever is somehow affecting oh-so-sensitive them more than everyone else.

And when someone says, "Are you okay?" we either get the feeling that

1) they are genuinely concerned

or

2) they are commenting on our being annoying, in one of the above ways, with all the "oofs" and sighs.

Which feeling we get in either position depends on gut feelings and context.

When my mother-in-law makes "oofs" and my husband sighs, I ask "What's wrong?" even when I am pretty sure it's just for the attention, which is indeed annoying, but I have learned it's no big deal just to humor them. I think it's a PA way to communicate, but at a very minor level that is easier just to live with than to challenge.

Maybe it's a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like the grumbling- he could be taking the grunting as a complaint about his driving and not a complaint about the existance of speed bumps. Honestly, someone complaining about a normal part of the road every time might get to me too.

I've said it already- I don't do it all the time.

You do it often enough that *you* are annoyed by his response. So that's often enough for *him* to be annoyed at your grunting (if indeed he is--he might not be; he might just think he should be solicitous, since you're clearly uncomfortable).

I admit I'm guilty of this, especially with a couple of friends who have mobility/pain issues. When I ask "Are you OK?" I usually mean "Do you need help?" or, if I think the discomfort might be my fault (e.g., I took a speed bump too fast) "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Reading this thread has me thinking my "Are you OK"-ing is probably unnecessary. Neither of them are shy about *asking* for help if they need it.

Maybe it's a passive aggressive way of saying he doesn't like the grumbling- he could be taking the grunting as a complaint about his driving and not a complaint about the existance of speed bumps. Honestly, someone complaining about a normal part of the road every time might get to me too.

I've said it already- I don't do it all the time.

You do it often enough that *you* are annoyed by his response. So that's often enough for *him* to be annoyed at your grunting (if indeed he is--he might not be; he might just think he should be solicitous, since you're clearly uncomfortable).

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I really shouldn't have mentioned the speedbumps, that specific incidence has only happened a couple of times, but it's completely dominating the discussion, when in reality it's only a tiny part of the problem.

I also get the "what's wrong", whenevera frown crosses my face for whatever reason, however brief, or my default facial expression at the moment isn't happy.

My friend is kind of odd about some things- he asks "Are you okay?" so much that I wonder if he thinks I'm made of glass. Yet sometimes when he upsets me emotionally, all that concern goes right out the window. Recently he snarked at me "Google is a great resource" when I asked about a computer issue I was having, snarky tone and all. When I told him that I really didn't care for the snark, he told me that he didn't mean it like that, and that if I took offense, it was my problem.